That 4, 000-year-old culture sits at the border between wise development and environmental anarchy, and the people of America's polar county will soon watch with hope and fear as the oil ships move north.

CNN: Why we should look to the Arctic

And some printed and digitized culture is spread regionally through cross-border communities such as overseas Chinese, Indians and Filipinos.

CNN: Cultural Shock

Experiencing Mexican culture first hand and being a governor of a border state gives Richardson a unique view of immigration.

FORBES: '08 Tracker: November

Just 20 miles from the Mexico border, San Diego has a large Latino community and culture.

BBC: Living in: San Diego

One of its professors, Michelle Buck, who regularly teaches on executive education programmes south of the border, has even developed a leadership programme based around that icon of Latin American culture, the tango.

ECONOMIST: Business schools' new clientele

The Ulster-Scots Agency is a cross-border government agency set up under the Good Friday Agreement to promote the Ulster-Scots language and culture.

BBC: New Ulster-Scots institute